Author: Veena Narayan

Writer
Guest Posts2 Comments

Guest Post – A Strange Night

Veena Narayan

[This is a guest post written by Vaibhav K. Vaibhav is a guitarist active in the independent music scene for a long while now. He loves all things music and motor sport and is currently exploring the music scene in Mumbai.] Those closest to me know about how I gave up on a lot of things in life to pursue my love for music. And it is through this love for music, that I discovered how much I enjoyed being on the road. I had never truly experienced wanderlust while traveling by air, or by train or any other public … Continue reading Guest Post – A Strange Night

Thought Journal3 Comments

Thought Journal

Veena Narayan

15/09/2021 Quit a book if it does not interest you. That was the advice the well known author had put forth in an article. Sacrilege! I thought. I never quit a book. Not only that, I read it from cover to cover. When I say that I mean it literally. I read everything from the front matter down to the last word in the acknowledgments. But truth be told there were quite a number of books I was stuck with. I wouldn’t admit even to myself that I had quit reading them. But there they were on my bookshelf with … Continue reading Thought Journal

InterviewsLeave a comment

Interview: Anand Narayan – Banker with a Penchant for Stencil Art

Veena Narayan

Banking and art – they don’t seem to have much in common. But here is a banker who found expression for his creativity through stencil art. Meet Anand Narayan, a Mumbaikar, who lives and works in Hong Kong as Senior Trader with HSBC Asset Management. An alumnus of the St Lawrence High School, Santa Cruz, Mumbai, Anand also holds a post graduate degree from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies. Edited excerpts from an email interview:  Veena Narayan: I understand you were born and brought up in Mumbai. Any childhood memories that you would like to share? Anand Narayan: … Continue reading Interview: Anand Narayan – Banker with a Penchant for Stencil Art

Jottings3 Comments

Reading Freedom

Veena Narayan

It’s that time of the year again. Independence Day is round the corner. Here’s my take on when I feel most free: I’m free when I read. I really get a kick out of it when I think that with something as simple as the flip of a cover I’m free to enter a whole new world. This may be fantastic or futuristic. It could be a world gone by, a world that existed many centuries ago. Yet with the flip of a cover, it becomes real and I dissolve into it and become a part of it. The world … Continue reading Reading Freedom

Jottings2 Comments

My Fluid Relationship with Rain

Veena Narayan

I like to think there’s something special about the rains in Kerala. Their very sound is different. But they have been playing truant and that set me thinking about my rather fluid relationship with rains. Rains bring childhood memories-   Of wading along in knee high water through a maze of lanes, clutching my umbrella close while the beast pounded incessantly on it. Of Father wading along beside me, pants folded to knee length; grim faced and silent because conversation was impossible in the roar. Of the smell of new schoolbooks both texts and note and the slightly damp feel … Continue reading My Fluid Relationship with Rain

Personal Essay6 Comments

My Brush With the Virus

Veena Narayan

So, it finally found me; the virus did. The symptoms began the day after the Malayalam New Year’s day – Vishu. My mind immediately went on high alert about my breathing. It popped all sorts of questions. Was there a strain? Was I drawing in air with difficulty? Were my oxygen levels dropping? Would I know if they did? Would the oxygen levels dip while I was asleep? Wouldn’t it be better if I stayed awake and monitored my breathing?   Someone sent an oximeter and that proved to be a huge relief. The tiny little display panel was solid … Continue reading My Brush With the Virus

Folklore4 Comments

The Naked Warrior and the Crafty Classmate

Veena Narayan

Unni had reached the capital of Travancore and was granted an audience with King Marthanda Varma. Read the first part of the story here. The next day when Unni turned up at the palace at the appointed hour, he found the fort gates locked and bolted from the inside. Normally, there would be guards posted at the entrance, but today they too were missing. Puzzled, Unni took a walk around the fort and found all the doors locked and secured and no guards at any positions. When he came back to the original entrance, he knew that the great king … Continue reading The Naked Warrior and the Crafty Classmate

Folklore1 Comment

Exponent Extraordinaire

Veena Narayan

Kalarippayattu, the martial arts form unique to Kerala has always been part of its folklore. Thus we get to know of colourful masters who performed great deeds of valour and showed unimaginable skill. One such master of martial arts was Kallanthattil Gurukkal. It’s interesting how we rarely get to know the name of the particular individual. Here Kallanthattil is the family name and Gurukkal, the title given to him. But, what was his given name? No one knows. It has been lost in the folds of time. For the sake of narrative convenience, let’s call him Unni, a very common … Continue reading Exponent Extraordinaire

Folklore1 Comment

The Good Doctor and the Labourer Who Made Him Cry

Veena Narayan

Aryan Narayana Mooss was a famous Ayurvedic physician who lived in Kerala more than a century ago. Read the first part of the story here. One day, Mooss was sitting on an armchair on the veranda of the southern wing of his house. A poor mappilla labourer came in through the gatehouse and approached Mooss. But when he reached the middle of the courtyard, he sat down and couldn’t move. “My lord, I can’t stand,” he said piteously and continued to sit there on the courtyard that had been flattened smooth, and swept clean. “Tell me what ails you,” said … Continue reading The Good Doctor and the Labourer Who Made Him Cry